We have to do what is best for Guyana, US Ambassador protecting America’s Interest

Sep 04, 2019 News

-¬ says GCCI in response to senior diplomat’s
comments on Guyana’s Local Content push

The US Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch, who is also co-Chair of the American Chamber of Commerce of Guyana (AmCham Guyana), is not too enthusiastic about recent calls for local content policy and legislation.

Senior Vice President of GCCI, Timothy Tucker

US Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch

During the first Annual General Meeting for AmCham Guyana at the Marriott Hotel on Saturday, she said “At a time of increasing integration, especially in a globalised energy sector, focusing on who owns a firm is counterproductive.”
Her comments come after a recent Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) forum at The Duke Lodge, where the speakers stressed the importance of local content to ensure Guyanese directly benefit from the proceeds of First Oil.
During a press brief yesterday at its boardroom, as the GCCI announced its Business Development Forum to be held later this month, the question was posed how it contends with Lynch’s statement, given that the Chamber has been on the forefront of local content advocacy.
Senior Vice President of GCCI, Timothy Tucker, said that Lynch is doing her job as a public servant of the United States.
“[Lynch] is a public servant in her country and she has to do what is best for her country and her country’s businesses.” OKTucker explained
He said “I understand she has to protect her investors and the companies [coming] from that country…”
“After all, we all see that her President [Donald Trump] is very pro Local Content for his country.”
“We are the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and we have to do what is best for Guyanese businesses. And that’s why the Chamber has always been supportive of local content because it is what is best for Guyanese businesses.” Tucker added.
Lynch had also said that the emphasis should be placed, instead on whether firms follow international best practices on matters of environmental protection and financial transparency.
The Ambassador’s words contrast with a statement by AmCham President, Zulfikar Ally, who, at the GCCI Local Content Roundtable, urged Government to focus more on Guyanese rather than international companies, “because they will come here regardless.”
He had noted Guyana’s history of granting exorbitant concessions to foreigners to lure them to Guyana’s shores.
“The country,” the AmCham President said, “no longer has to be overly generous with this policy, but to now ensure that the local private sector, Guyanese, especially small-sized enterprises, all benefit from these concessions and duty-free [concessions], in order to build their capacity to enter this new sector.”
For that, he said that Government must allow its outlook on business and the attraction of investment, to undergo a major shift.